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Tygerberg Poison Information Centre
History
In 1970 a toxicology laboratory was set up in the Department of Pharmacology to service the Tygerberg Hospital with TDM and toxicology screens and simultaneously a Poison Information Service was started. Dr Straughan and Dr Steyn, pharmacologists in the Department at that time, had pagers and were tasked to rotate on a 24 hour call roster.
In 1977 due to increasing call load, it was decided to start a Toxicology Division under Dr Don Parkin. Dr Gerbus Muller was recruited and the centre was formally allocated its own office space. It was officially called "The Tygerberg Drug and Poison Information Centre". It operated as a 24/7 service from the very beginning and all medical doctors in the Department were the consultants.
In 1982 the documentation of cases was formalized using a standard consultation form.
In 1998 the name was changed to "Tygerberg Poison Information Centre".
